here's a little ditty by Diddy. i've been waiting a while to use that one. anywho, enough of that.

i'm home from Dublin, and all things IEC2012! but i've been back for a week, you say, ... dem ar de effects of jetlag. in fact, i'm still struggling - you see, i'm once again suffering from a mancold. all we can do now is pray. i don't understand because you see the ABp is fine, Msgrs. Joe and Daniel are running around, Fr. Jim is off to Houston, even Msgr. Latour is good to go! once again, the young pup doesn't know how to take care of himself. one day i'll grow up, really. there were a few colds on the trip, however, and i do hope everyone is feeling better!

Maman + moi vers la fin du Congrès

the Archdiocese of Ottawa had a great time in Dublin. the Congress was great. of course, there were many highlights, many great talks, conferences, testimonies, mass with the Universal Church, and more pictures (these are three of over 700).

i spent the last week wrapping up the Congress, à la Zenit's wrap-up (part one, part deux). i also shared pics through Google+, aka Top Tens (Days One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven, Eight, + Nine). though i didn't blog - i live tweeted everyday (even interviewed because of it thanks to Salt & Light), and posted more pictures through Instagram, + Facebook! it was great to be with the diocese, together, often times having breakfast preparing for the day, or over a beer sharing highlights.

"in Catholicism, the pint, the pipe and the Cross can all fit together." (GK Chesterton)

there are so many highlights, i really do not know where to start - a talk on the family with Dr. Egan really got me thinking, mass with 75000+ people on closing day, the 48 hours delay in arriving home (not-so much a highlight, yet), and time with mom, of course! that was our first major trip as mother and child. finally, lastly, we also took time to visit the country's most visited tourist site: Guinness Storehouse!

a small group of us took Saturday afternoon and spent an hour visiting Ireland + Dublin's most visited site. drinking Guinness straight from the source was a grand experience!

however, one thing that i will never forget, which changed everything - again - is jetlag!

i arrived into end of school week for école Paul VI, SMB, and ESCRH. because of flight delays i missed grade 8 graduation, but i made it in time for grade 12 graduation! the parish gave out four scholarships and i was proud to present them to four students. i also opened with a brief reflection and prayer. i kept the powerpoint of pictures to a minimum (no i did not do this), but i did mention the effects of jetlag - not only for me, as i was walking off the plane into a school gym, but for them, as they begin new timezone's of life.

"medically referred to as desynchronosis, is a physiological condition which results from alterations to the body's circadian rhythms resulting from rapid long-distance transmeridian (east–west or west–east) travel on a jet airplane. It is classified as one of the circadian rhythm sleep disorders." (wikipedia.org)

i'm not sure what this all means, but i know i'm a mess. the symptoms are disorientation, lack of sleep, tiredness, headaches, etc. on the plane ride home i was wondering, pondering what to say to the Grade 12 graduating class! all i could do was worry about how long this jetlag would stick around, how long would it take for me to recover. then, of course, bright light!!! welcome to the journey of life - where there are several thousand timezones!

next year our brothers and sisters will be in a new place, in a new reality. they won't always be able to fall back into old habits, they'll need to adapt to new realities, new horizons, new timezones. trying to live on local time won't work - there are different timezones in universities, colleges, work world, etc. each day in Dublin i knew what time it was back home. but i wasn't back home, i was in Dublin. theses transitions affect all of us, and we all deal with them in some way or another. some go with the flow, or punches, and others (me) are a mess. eventually, no worries - but we all experience the same symptoms - headaches, tiredness, irritability, etc.

the goal of jetlag is to realign oneself as soon as possible. not only physically, but spiritually. i will let you know when both happen to me! i'm blogging again, so that's a good start, eh?

minutes away from Trinity College (home to the Book of Kells - 9th Century manuscript contains the four Gospels in Latin based on a Vulgate text, written on vellum (prepared calfskin), in a bold and expert version of the script known as "insular majuscule")

we are 26 pilgrims from the Archdiocese, joining 15000 pilgrims for the week

on Tuesday, the film the French Connection will be shown: "Some Irish immigrants to Canada in the last century, moved straight from speaking Irish to speaking French and have never spoken English. Former Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney is one of the more famous descendants of this Quebec emigration." i mention this since one of our 26 pilgrims will be introducing the film to those gathered, because of his own personal connection, family history, to this story!

Thursday, June 07, 2012

"i turn my camera on
i cut my fingers on the way
i feel me slippin away
i wipe my feelings off
y'made me untouchable for life
yeah and you wasn't polite" (Spoon - I Turn My Camara On, 2005)

guess what?, ... chicken butt. guess why?, ... chicken thigh. enough of that. now i need to prepare for all things IEC2012. as i mentioned, there is a Starbucks not too far from me while in Dublin. how much money should i get for coffee? 400, 500 euros should cover it, eh? therefore, i went shopping for a money clip the other day. i decided on no for Hugo Boss' $200, and no on ThinkGeek's Batman money clip. now what? office supplies to the rescue!

guess who is going to be on TV? not me. but our parish, Saint-Pierre-Apôtre, will be!!! for the next two Sundays (June 10th + 17th), Radio-Canada's Jour du Seigneur will televise our Sunday mass. if you have a chance, check it out, live at 10am. unfortunately, it just happens that i am away - those two weekends. bummer. maybe next time ...

oh, there is a next time?! indeed! stay tuned for October 7th, live once again de chez nous! why? because this year our parish, and Hawkesbury will be celebrating the 70th anniversary of the regional Eucharistic Congress that took place in 1942 (pics 1, 2, 3)! from one Eucharistic Congress to another. i won't be on TV, however, i maybe one of the commercials - since i did a short interview with Radio-Canada on all things IEC2012. depending on timing, etc., they may show my face for two seconds! let me know, since i will miss the whole thing!

the exact dates of the regional Congress were 26 - 30 August, 1942. i've written an article in the next Catholic Ottawa, coming to a parish near you (EN, FR)! instead of underlining this event in August, or September, we decided to wait to party hard, and pray harder, come October 2012! we are now preparing a committee to help with these celebrations! interested? please continue to pray for the success of the next 50th International Eucharistic Congress.

Saturday, June 02, 2012

"we're leaving together
but still it's farewell
and maybe we'll come back
to earth, who can tell?
i guess there is no one to blame
we're leaving ground
will things ever be the same again?
it's the final countdown!" (Europe - The Final Countdown, 1986)

i now understand why i love this song. i have been waiting 24 years (2012 - 1986) to use this song in my blog! in fact, at one point i could play the intro on the piano. at least i can still whistle this happy tune! gotta love the big hair days of the '80s!

i hope to be able to blog a bit while overseas. i also will have my futuristic cool smartphone with me, and plan to take photos - posting them when time permits to Instagram, Facebook + Twitter. maybe, if technology permits, and i have another SIM card, i may live tweet (hastag #iec2012) some of the conferences! please join us next week - June 10 -17, by praying the IEC2012prayer daily.

so maybe another post or two before i go. but these words ring true - we are leaving together, and maybe we will come back ... to earth that is! after diving deeper into the Mystery of the Eucharist for a week, i'm not sure anything will be the same again! you see, it is the final countdown! see you soon. peace.